Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video
Arsenal got back to winning ways, and plunged Sp*rs further into the relegation mire, after a 4-1 win at White Hart Lane yesterday.
Mikel Arteta made a couple of changes to the side that played in midweek, with Eberechi Eze starting in midfield, and Leandro Trossard on the left, which meant Bukayo Saka returning to his normal position on the right hand side. This was a game we had to show up for, and with the opposition fresh having not played in almost two weeks, a very pleasing aspect of our performance was, for me, how quickly we got on top.
The home crowd were up for it, part of their game plan would have been to try and put us under pressure early on, but they just didn’t have the ball. In the opening 7 minutes we had 84% possession, and 3 attempts at goal, the best of which saw Viktor Gyokeres fizz a shot not too far wide of the far post. Unfortunately, we then had a stoppage because the assistant referee’s headset wasn’t working. It was, to be frank, farcical, because a full five minutes passed before play got underway again. If only the man on the sideline had some other kind of apparatus he might wave around and use to communicate with the referee.
It felt like one of those things that could only happen to us, and after such a good start the last thing we needed was our momentum halted. Thankfully, that wasn’t really the case, and we picked up where we left off when play restarted. Gyokeres was good again, creating a chance that William Saliba headed just wide, and a mistake at the back from them saw Trossard fire high and wide.
Jurrien Timber picked up a yellow card after a careless pass, but just after the half hour mark we were ahead. Saka drove into the box, pulled it back, Eze’s first touch rolled up into the air and he was quickest to react, getting his leg over the ball to hook it home to make it 1-0. That was, apparently, his first Premier League shot on target since his hat-trick goal in the last derby. Talk about saving them up.
After we scored, Declan Rice gestured to his teammates to use their heads and concentrate, but then completely failed to take his own advice. I don’t really know what he was thinking, he could have played a pass back to David Raya, but instead got caught on the ball deep in our half, and Randal Kolo Muani drove into our box to make it 1-1 less than 30 seconds after the restart. That bad habit of conceding quickly after we score is one we need to do away with asap, and it was so unlike Rice to make a mistake like that as his security on the ball is one of his great strengths.
Piero Hincapie made a great chance for Saka, but his effort was blocked by Vicario, the flag went up but had he put it in the net it would have stood after a VAR check. Trossard then saw a shot dribble just wide of the far post not long before the half-time whistle went. It was a game we deserved to be ahead in, but that we weren’t was entirely our own fault.
Raya had to make an early second half save before the lead was doubled. Timber’s pass from out on the right was excellent, the first touch from Gyokeres very good, and the finish from inside the D even better. Just three minutes later though, they had the ball in the back of the net again, but this time Muani was adjudged to have pushed Gabriel as he went to challenge for the aerial ball. It’s a bit soft, no two ways about it, but it’s also pretty obvious from the attacker, and when you put two hands on someone’s back, you can’t argue too much if the referee blows for a foul. Anyway, I’ll consider it some kind of karmic payback for that goal at Newcastle a couple of seasons ago.
Cristhian Mosquera came on for Timber around the hour mark, slotted in really well at right back, and within minutes we were further ahead. Eze anticipated well in midfield, Gyokeres’ touch was helpful, it was played to Saka who drove into the box and looked like he’d score but for a good tackle to deny him. Thankfully though, the ball broke for Eze who took a touch and finished for 3-1. We often get questions along the lines of ‘How do we get more out of Eze?’, and the obvious answer is ‘Tell him we’re playing Sp*rs every week’.
5 goals in 2 games against them this season, and jokes aside, another big contribution in a season where he’s struggled for consistent impact. The manager said afterwards that he’d been upset when not picked from the start against Wolves, and the only way to deal with that positively is to go out and do what he did yesterday. Give your boss something to think about, and he certainly did that.
Trossard and Eze then made way for Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard, and the fine margins of Premier League games were apparent again when they almost scored again. A low cross from Djed Spence deflected towards our goal, but demonstrating incredibly quick reaction time, Raya turned it around and clawed it off the line as it was about to go in. I thought the keeper had a very good game in general, his handling and command of his area was really important after his midweek error, but this was another save to add to the impressive list he’s made this season. Not to mention it saved us from a horrendous final few minutes with just a one goal lead, so thanks to Raya for looking after the cardiac health of so many Arsenal fans.
Thankfully, there was some icing on the cake with another goal in injury time. I thought Gyokeres’ first goal was very good, but I liked this one more. After Odegaard picked up a pass from Martinelli and laid it into the path of the striker, the way he drove into the box, kept the ball at his feet, then applied the finish was the kind of thing he’s struggled with this season. This time though, he made no mistake, this was strong, clinical centre-forward play, and it added some real gloss to the scoreline.
By this time, the game was being played in front of a near empty stadium, the second time they’ve conceded four goals against us this season, and as a response to what went wrong at Wolves in midweek, this was just what we needed. It wasn’t perfect, as those nearly moments for the opposition demonstrate, but you could clearly see a real determination to put things right in the way we played this game.
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta said:
I am very, very proud and very happy, not for today, but what happened in the last three days because we said: OK, let’s love the players when they need it the most. But as well, sometimes the coaches and the staff, we need some love as well. We need some people around them with positivity, drive and who stand up next to you when we need them. And it’s been really, really good to work with them in the last few days.
I feel very, very privileged to work with them every single day. I knew we were going to react.
After Man City had won yesterday, and after the way we threw away a two goal lead against Wolves, nothing less than a win would have been good enough yesterday, so as frustrating as the build-up to this one had been, we have to give credit where it’s due. This was a game we dominated really, despite their opportunities. We had 20 attempts to their 6, but maybe more importantly we made more tackles, and won more duels throughout despite having far more possession. That tells you how hard we worked.
Eze’s lightning struck twice this season against Sp*rs, but he now has to go on and do it with greater frequency. Hopefully as a way of getting him back on track, it has the desired effect, and this was, by some distance Gyokeres’ best performance in an Arsenal shirt. It wasn’t just the goals either. It was the way, when he did have the ball, he generally made it cohesive with those around him. There are aspects of his game which I still think he can improve (the 50-50s!), but he was a genuine presence yesterday, and took his goals really, really well.
This might also be a small thing, but I worried at half-time that the Rice mistake might be one which could haunt him, a bit like Steven Gerrard’s ‘We don’t let this slip’ moment. He got away with another loose touch in the second half, which led to that Raya save, so while he blotted his copybook a little bit with that first half error, the way the team responded in the second half made it more or less redundant. I think you could see by the way Rice celebrated the first Gyokeres goal, he was thankful it was one that might not prove to be fatal.
We now have the rare sight of a week ‘off’, as we don’t play again until Chelsea on Sunday. That ought to be a good thing for some tired legs, and hopefully whatever plans the club have are beneficial in that sense as a way to reset and go again for what’s going to be a big final push in the last few months of this campaign. Any derby can be a bit mad, and there were moments yesterday that might have transported our view of this game into that realm, but in the end we stayed on top of those, took the three points we needed, rebuilt some confidence for ourselves, and – as I said in yesterday’s preview – reminded everyone this is a better team than we’ve seen over the last few weeks.
Ok, I’ll leave it there this morning. Stand by for an Arsecast Extra, as always. In a while we’ll put out the call for questions on BlueSky @gunnerblog.bsky.social and @arseblog.com. So fire away using the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server. The pod should be out mid-afternoon as we have some time zone differences today because James is on the other side of the Atlantic.
For now, have a good one. And let’s all laugh at Sp*rs.
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